The present invention is related to a durable hydroentangled nonwoven composite fabric containing pulp fibers and continuous filaments.
Hydroentangling processes and hydroentangled composite webs containing various combinations of different fibers are known in the art. A typical hydroentangling process utilizes high pressure jet streams of water to entangle fibers and/or filaments to form a highly entangled consolidated fibrous structure, e.g., a nonwoven fabric. Hydroentangled nonwoven fabrics of staple length fibers and continuous filaments are disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,494,821 to Evans and U.S. Pat. No. 4,144,370 to Bouolton. Hydroentangled composite nonwoven fabrics of a continuous filament nonwoven web and a pulp layer are disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,284,703 to Everhart et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 4,808,467 to Suskind et al. The high pulp content nonwoven fabric of U.S. Pat. No. 5,284,703 is strong and abrasion resistant as well as has a high capacity for absorbing aqueous liquids and oils, making the fabric highly suitable for, e.g., heavy duty wipe applications.
The prior art hydroentangled composite materials are suitable for various uses, they are typically adapted for non-multiple use disposable applications and are not designed to be launderable. When hydroentangled composites are machine laundered, they tend to lose significant amounts of the component fibers and form clumps of bunched fibers, forming composites that have a highly nonuniform fiber coverage. There remains a need for durable hydroentangled composite materials that can be used in multiple wash and use applications.